Usagi's Strength
by Mare of Earth
Summary: Betrayed, lost, Usagi takes a rather final step...... that leads her to ancient truths and unexpected places rating may go up in later chapters ON HOLD but not forgotten!
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1 

Usagi hummed to herself as she bounced her way up the stairs to their apartment.

 _I am so glad I was able to get off early today – I can't wait to tell him!!_

Humming to herself, she unlocked the door to the apartment, letting to door close itself behind her. 

_Hmmm…. Now, what to do first? Well, since I will be here getting things ready, I should put in a load of laundry. That doesn't require my supervision, and will get some of my cleaning out of the way so we can "sleep in" guilt-free tomorrow!_

Heading into the bedroom, she stumbled over Mamoru's green jacket. 

_Odd…. He really must have been in a hurry this morning. …… What if he knows?!_

After panicking for a moment, she remembered how careful she had been.

_Naah. There is no way he could know yet. I only found out today….._

Continuing toward the bedroom, she draped the jacket over her arm. 

_I better hang this up…. He is so irritable if his jacket isn't perfect. Why he loved this old thing so much….. I mean, it's starting to fray at the cuffs! _

At the bedroom door, she stopped. 

_Closed? That's odd….._

From beyond the door, she heard a pained moan. 

_Wait – jacket on the floor…. Bedroom door closed…. Oh no! Mamo-chan probably has another of his migraines….. he never wants to be bothered then. But I should check on him. But what if he gets mad? Light makes it worse… If I open the door the light will get in. _

After thinking this over for a minute, she walked around and closed all the blinds. 

_There. This way the light won't hurt his eyes. Oh, I hope it's not too bad – I really wanted to tell him tonight!_

Slowly opening the door, she peaked inside to check that the light wasn't getting thru.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh!! MINA!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!"

Usagi, eyes wide, slowly closed the door. 

Wha……..wha…..what…… 

She slowly backed away from the door. This wasn't happening! This couldn't be happening!!!

Oh, but it was. 

Thinking quickly, feverishly, Usagi grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter and headed outside. 

_I need to think….. but where to go? Can't go to Crown – Andrew owns it now, so he'll be there, and he'll want to know why I am upset…. Maybe the park? Minna are at work right now…. Well, all except two of them……_

Arriving at the park, Usagi headed off the trails and into the trees. 

_Ok. Think. Who can I trust…. Mina is the leader of the Inners – they are loyal to her. The Outers? Hmmm….. no. Aside from the fact that they hate me for dealing almost exclusively with the Inners, they follow Setsuna, who is still pissed that I locked the Time Gates to prevent Galaxia from accessing them and refused to re-open them. No one should know the future – and it was the only way to free her._

_Mother's spirit moved on after the Sailor Wars. Luna and Artemis live with Mina now – no way they didn't know about this._

_I have no one._

_Oh, gods. I am alone._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

****

The setting sun shining into Usagi's eyes brought her out of her shock.

_I have no one. I can trust no one._

_Mamoru is the prince of Earth. There is nowhere I can hide._

_What am I going to do?_

Usagi felt a wrongness wash over her aura. _A youma? But…. I thought they were all gone?_

Running in the direction of the wrongness, Usagi saw a youma. A Dark Kingdom youma. It was desperately trying to catch someone – but in it's obviously weakened state, it was having no luck.

The only reason I sensed it was because I was so close……wait. This could be a good thing. Mamoru will sense my power as soon as I use it – as long as I am on the Earth. But….. he can't feel me if I'm not on the planet. What if I use the youma to make it look like it obliterated me. The amount of energy my death would release – an un-henshined Final Strike – would be about the same as a teleport…. And would obliterate the body. Maybe the Kami DO listen occasionally!

Rushing forward, Usagi ran up to meet her fate – and used it to disguise her escape.

The Scouts all felt the energy released. The Final Strike of their Princess. 

Ami was the first to reach the scene. The youma was very weak – Ami finished it off with a single "Aqua Raphsody."

Pulling out the Mercury computer, she examined the scene of the battle. Soaking the surrounding area were traces of Usagi's energy- all of it tinged with a desperation and a resolve – the ear marks of an executed Final Strike.

The stupid little bitch couldn't even succeed at taking your last enemy with you. Gods, what a weakling.

Activating her communicator, she called up the other scouts. 

"Well, it looks like our little problem solved itself. Stupid little bitch used a Final Strike – and even screwed that up!

The other scouts laughed. 

Amy closed the Mercury computer and walked away from the scene.

Problem solved.

From the ruins of the old Palace, Usagi deactivated her communicator. Looking around, she tried to figure out what to do.

_I was right – none of them could be trusted. But what now? I am not strong enough to rebuild all this – and I can't travel the rest of the cosmos alone. And I'm pregnant._

Wiping away a tear, she tried to think of what to do.

If only I could sleep away my troubles. I could just go to sleep, and when I woke the Scouts would be gone, the danger would be over, and my baby and I would be safe.

The Ginzoushou, hearing her wish, granted it.

In the ruins of the Lunar Palace, a crystal pillar shone. Over time, it was slowly covered by dust, until there was only a smooth patch on the Lunar surface as evidence that anything had ever been there.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

In her crystal casing, Usagi slept. But there are some things that cannot be delayed, and so over the course of time, the life her body nurtured grew. 

On the planet below, events moved onward. After Usagi's "death", Mina took back the role of leader of the Sailor scouts. With a crescent moon once again on her brow, she claimed that she was the real Moon Princess, and that Usagi had stolen her birthright. With the return of Prince Diamond, Mina's aspirations were proven false, when he demanded Serenity be turned over to him. Upon capturing Mina, he used his powers over the mind to show her the truth of things, and how she, as the Senshi of love, had betrayed her own element.

After Diamond fled, to search the universe for Serenity's next incarnation, Mina returned to the scouts. Knowing now of the crimes she had committed, she bypassed the opportunity given to her to reveal the truth. She continued to claim she was the Princess, and used Diamond's retreat as proof of her power. 

The Scouts continued under Mina's leadership, as she continued to consolidate her position by marrying Mamoru. As Proof of her power, the incursions by dark forces ceased not long after Diamond's final incursion.

With Endymion and the others as her enforcers, Mina went onward to attempt to establish her version of Crystal Tokyo.

As Usagi slept, she dreamed. She dreamed about the asteroid that would have caused the Earth's next ice age, and the crystal, reacting to her dreams, nudged it's orbit, avoiding the previously ordained collision. She dreamed of the crystal palace that the Scouts built with their magic. While it was not the future she and the Scouts had saved, the Scouts were happier without the world to take care of. She dreamed of Endymion's devotion to Mina, and of how the two wished for an heir. Distantly, she was aware of her daughter's growth. Inhibited by the crystal, a process that should have taken months instead slowed to years, but as the time of her daughter's birth approached, she was forced to face the reality that while she continued to sleep, her daughter would continue to age. 

Embracing her nature, that of serenity itself, Usagi's subconscious used the crystal to make Mina believe she was pregnant, and when the time came, her daughter was transferred to Mina's womb, to be born into a world where she could grow up with her father and her "mother". 

As the decades passed, her daughter grew up. The Scouts began to age. As Usagi dreamed, the Scout's lights dimmed, and in a flash of energy, disappeared.

In her crystal chrysalis, Usagi changed. Her already pale coloring faded, her wings grew, and the influence of her second mother's genetics faded completely. She became Serenity, and as such, her memories linked to her past incarnations. Her mind integrated the memories of uncounted millennia, as she finally achieved what Pluto called her "Cosmos" form, which in reality was merely her return to her original state. 

For there had always and only ever been one being called Serenity.

As time continued to pass, Serenity's sleep grew deeper, and as the world below changed, her awareness withdrew bit by bit until not even dreams disturbed her slumber.

Until, of course, stubborn force met unmovable object. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

_500,000 years later. Capsule Corp_.

"Onna! The gravity room is broken again! Fix it!"

"HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?! MY NAME IS NOT ONNA! IT IS BULMA! AND IF YOU WANT THE GRAVITY ROOM FIXED - DO IT YOURSELF! I HAVE A DATE WITH YAMCHA TONIGHT!"

Muttering darkly to himself, the Saiyan Prince walked outside and launched himself up into the air. 

Damn onna. What did I ever see in her? I lower myself to mate with her, then the evening I plan to Bond with her, I find her in bed with another. Stupid, worthless onna. 

_I need to get away from here. Surely there is someplace where the Prince of all Saiyans can go. _

_Hmmm……. Dende is familiar with this area of the cosmos. Maybe he knows of something interesting. Ruins I can plunder, annoying races I can annihilate, something. Anything!_

Kami's  Lookout 

"Hey Vegeta! How are you? What's wrong?" Mr. Popo greeted the Saiyan no Ouji with a stream of questions.

"Where is Dende?" Vegeta demanded. 

"Oh, hello Vegeta. I'm right here." Dende stepped out of a nearby doorway.  "What can I do for you?"

"I'm bored of this stupid dirtball. You know this area – is there anything interesting to explore in this galaxy?"

"Well….hmmm…." Dende taps his fingers on his chin and stares up at the sky in a thoughtful manner.

"Dende, what about the Lunar ruins?" Mr. Popo asks.

"Well, there are those. Most of them have been buried by impact dust at this point though. Piccolo's wish moved it to a synchronous orbit so that it is always on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, but doing so increased the number of asteroids that hit it. With no remaining atmosphere, the ruins are probably too dangerous at this point."

"Bah. Ruins from some minor moon are of no interest to me. I am looking for something profitable, someplace I can find something worth something." Vegeta scoffed.

Dende thought about it for a moment. "True. There might not be much left of value left in the wreckage that remains of the capital of the Silver Millennium. True, their technology was probably the most advanced the cosmos has ever seen, but most of it was probably looted long ago."

"Mr. Dende, sir, you know that's not true. No one has ever succeeded in finding the ruins once they reach the surface."

Dende looked at Mr. Popo, surprised. "What do you mean? I hadn't heard that part before."

Vegeta interrupted. "Bah. Like it matters. I have never heard of this Silver Millennium of yours, thus it is unimportant. I want some real ruins!"

"Mr. Vegeta, you never heard of the Silver Alliance? The Saiyans were one of the member species!"

"What?! Explain. Now."

"Well, as I recall, the Silver Alliance was made up of nine of the races in this solar system. The Earth was, I believe, considered to be too primitive to be a member."

"Hah! As if that is a surprise!" Vegeta interrupted.

After a glaring at Vegeta, Dende asked Mr. Popo to continue.

"Each of the eight inhabited planets was ruled by a cadet line of the ninth member, Earth's Moon, which was the home of the Serenitys. Every millennium, the ruling Queen would give birth to one child – always a daughter. After another millennium of training, the Queen would evolve to the next plane, while the Princess would take up the throne. With the Alliance growing, the member races started to colonize outside of this solar system, but only the Saturnian and Mercurian colonies were established before the Alliance fell. They were named 'Destruction' and 'Wisdom' respectively, which when translated into their native languages, worked out to 'Vegeta-sei' and 'Namek'." 

At this point, Vegeta and Dende were both staring at Mr. Popo with their jaws running toward the floor. 

"The last Princess Serenity was rumored to have been reincarnated after the Silver Alliance fell, but the only records show that the Princess' honor guard – made up of a member from each of the eight ruling families – was active during the late 20th and early 21st centuries AD, around Tokyo, Japan. They supposively repelled several waves of colonization attempts by other races, but without the balancing effect of Serenity, eventually fell to infighting, and annihilated each other- in the process destroying Tokyo, which led to the establishment of Western Capitol. The Lunar ruins have never been explored though – anyone who has tried claims that while their scans showed the ruins in remarkable condition, once they actually landed on the surface, they were unable to locate them. If they are there, there is no telling what they may contain."

After a few moments of silence, Vegeta snapped his mouth shut. "Well, that is possibly the very thing I am looking for. A challenge."

Dende, after blinking at Vegeta a few times, said "Glad we could be of help. If you find anything interesting, bring it back here. I want to know more about these other races."

"Fine." 

And with that, Vegeta headed for his ship. He had a mystery to solve.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

Vegeta watched the viewscreen as his ship as it drew closer to the Earth's former moon. 

_Hn…. Grey ball of rock. If you didn't know better, it would look like a big, gray asteroid. Sure as hell doesn't look like the central planetoid of an empire._

Vegeta checked the surface scans his sensors were picking up. _Hmmmm… multiple surface impacts. Plenty of craters…. 0% orbital spin – so no day/night cycle. Since no light equals no plant life, then the ruins I am looking for should be on the light side. No apparent ruins on the surface tho…. Hmmm… Sub-surface scans show a large quantity of air pockets concentrated at coordinates 103.968N 25.376E. scanning for stable landing surface…. Looks like the most stable spot is in that hollow…. Scans like a paved surface…._

The ship settled lightly on the located area of stability. Vegeta suited up for EVA – while there were traces of atmosphere on the Lunar surface, there wasn't enough to support life, so Vegeta was going to have to remember to remove the carbon build-up from the CO2 separators every few days. (Brief explanation – The body absorbs oxygen and converts it to carbon dioxide. So, theoretically, a system could be created that takes the CO2, splits off the Carbon, recycles the Oxygen, and absorbs the energy created by the breaking of the molecular bonds to heat and power the suit. Essentially a self-contained environment. I have no real idea if this would actually be possible, but it is an interesting idea, soooo….. *grin * )

Stepping out onto the surface, he looked around. _Hn… big flat cratered area. Great. Hmmm… how thick is the dust in this area? _Vegeta knelt down and scraped the dust away from the surface. _Smooth….. seems to be transparent….. structure is… crystalline? Odd… most races don't pave roads in crystal… Maybe the ship can analyze this stuff. _Powering up, Vegeta aimed a small blast at the cleared off area. To his surprise, the substance absorbed the energy, not even marking the surface. _What the hell?! _Vegeta shoots a heavier blast – same effect. After several minutes of this, he looses his temper.

"FINE! You want to play? You picked the wrong Prince to mess with!" 

Jumping to SSJ3, Vegeta levitates over the cleared area. 

"FINAL FLASH!"

The blast vaporized the surface dust, and upon hitting the crystalline surface, was absorbed. Seeing this, Vegeta added more power to it. 

"YOU WILL BREAK!! DAMMIT!! BREAK!!!"

Pouring power into the attack, Vegeta actually starts to tire. Still no effect.

"GRRRR!!!! Fine then! Screw you! I wasn't that interested in finding out what you're made of anyway!" Vegeta flies back into the airlock, deciding to call it a day.

Around and under the ship, the crystal surface starts to glow…..


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

In utter silence – something woke.

_Awareness._

_I am._

_I am……. what?_

**Peace. Calm. Serene.**

_I am **Serenity**._

************************************************ 

When Vegeta woke the next morning, he was once again determined to figure out what the substance below him was. 

_Something that absorbs my strongest blast…… can you imagine what great armor this stuff would make?! Kakarott could hit me with as many Kamehameha waves as he could create, but armor made from this stuff would just absorb it all. Hehehehehe. I will see him beaten bloody at my feet yet!_

And with those pleasant thoughts running around in his head, he suited up and headed outside.

**Movement**.

_Where?_

**_Outside_**_. _

_Daughter? …… **…… Scanning…..**_

**_No….. not daughter._**

****

**_Destruction_**_._

_Destruction? …..Survived?  …….. here? ……. …….. For what purpose?_

**_Unknown._**

_………._

_Daughter. Where is daughter?_

**_Scanning……._**

**_Energy signature not found_**_._

_Not found? How so?_

**_Accessing TimeGate…….. Energy signature found. Time reference 2453968.254873.985732.9830.293AC_**

_Elaborate._

**Scene shown. Chibi-Usa standing before Sailor Saturn, backdrop of Crystal Palace. Around them is a battlefield – noticeable amongst the blood are the remains of the other Senshi. The scene begins playing forward. Saturn and Chibi-Usa yelling. Saturn, brandishing her Glaive, starts her attack. Chibi-Usa, wielding a crystal staff, begins her attack. The two attacks hit one another, and a bright flash……. Scene focuses outward on Tokyo….. a crater is all that remains.**

_Sadness. _

_Cause of explosion?_

**_Matter/Anti-matter recombination in uncontrolled environment_**_. _


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Vegeta stepped out of the airlock into the crystalline surface. 

Hnnnn….. Energy blasts don't touch it….wonder what pure brute force would do?

And, being Vegeta, he hefted his oversized wrench and smacked it onto the crystal's surface.

_Vibration. Cause?_

**_Outside force._**

_Elaborate._

**_Destruction impacted casing with a blunt metallic object_**_._

_Hmmmm……Curious, isn't he?……….  Well, far be it for me to deprive him of satisfaction. Ginzoushou, the next time he hits the crystal, release sufficient energy to clear the illusions on the palace ruins._

**_Affirmative_**_. _

**_Waiting for outside action._**

****

****

****

Vegeta examined the tiny little dent he had made in the crystal surface.

_Hehehehehe. Looks like I was right! As usual. Force will succeed where energy doesn't!_

And with that, he lifted his wrench and hit the crystal with all of his might. 

**_Outside event in progress. Initiating energy release._**

As the wrench impacted with the crystal surface, the crystal surface emitted an intense flash of light. 

Blinking away the after effects of the energy flash, Vegeta looked around.

In a circle around his ship, the crystal surface was now completely free of the previous accumulation of dust, making it possible to see that beyond the edge of the circle….. was nothing.  Just a lot of empty space, which on earth, would contain nothing but thin air.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah. I made ya'll wait a bit for this one – I was a bit undecided on what I wanted to happen first – and I was watching DBZ tapes and drooling over Veggie!! (grins)  

My god…… I want a boyfriend with a voice like that.

Damn…… he reminds himself he is the Prince of all Sayans every…. What?.. 5 seconds?

Chapter 8

Walking over toward the edge (suit is equipped with gravity modulators) Vegeta looked over the edge….. and saw the ruins of what was once the ultimate expression of the living art of several races.

The pillar he was on was about 20 ft in height, and was quite out of place amongst the rest of the ruins. Made from a semi-transparent crystalline substance, the pillar seemed to absorb and magnify the light from the sun. As he watched, thelight being emmited by the pillar moved outward, creeping amongst the ruins, lining various structured in a radiant, almost… joyful, light.

_Beautiful….._

Sitting down on the pillar's edge, Vegeta watched as the light grew. As it expanded outward, it seemed to gain speed, until it covered the land as far as he could see. A few minutes after the leading edge of the wave of light passed out of viewing range, the light seemed to gather itself, and jumped skywards. As the light washed around him, Vegeta felt….. joy. Exuberant, unending joy.

When Vegita re-opened his eyes, he found himself seated on a bench. Nearby, his ship sat on what was very obviously a landing pad. Startled, he jumped to his feet and quickly scanned his surroundings. Around him were…… gardens.

Being rather confused at this point, Vegeta linked his suit sensors to the sensors on his ship and did a full scan.

Atmosphere: within standard parameters. 15% orbital tilt, with gravitational spin approximating that of Earth.

_What the hell?! Where the hell am I?_

_Amusement._

_He seems rather surprised. _

_…….._

_I wonder what the natives will make of him?_


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note:

Thank you all for your persistence – See – bugging the author pays off in the end! 

Chapter 9

Looking around, Vegeta assessed the landscape around his current position.

_Gardens… more gardens…. Hedges…. Aha! A footpath!_

Stepping away from his ever so neatly parked and overly new-looking ship, Vegeta followed the footpath into the hedges.

Three Hours Later

Vegeta stalked forward, grumbling. _Damn hedge-maze….how the hell am I supposed to get out of this?! I swear I have been to this exact spot several times already…. In fact, that opening looks just like the one……_

Peering out of the opening, Vegeta sees the magnificent sight of….

His ship.

"AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

_Amusement….._

**Inquiry?**

The illusion wrinkled when it encompassed the pillar… as a result, the landscape he sees isn't a part of the entire illusion – instead it is a self-contained world. I think Destruction is starting to lose his temper…. Hehehe….. I guess I could let him out now – the illusion has destabilized to once again be manipulable…..

As Vegeta readied a large blast to annihilate the irritating hedge maze, the surrounding environment wavered, as if seen through heat, and vanished.

"Grrrrrrr…."

_What the hell?!_

_I do NOT appreciate being played with! I am the Prince of all Saya-jins!_

Looking around, Vegeta found himself standing near the edge of the crystal pillar. Looking down to see if the ruins were still there, he saw…

Perfection.

True, most parts were slightly transparent, but you could now see what the ruins must have looked like before their destruction. 

It looked just like a larger version of the palace on Vegita-sei.

:_Greetings Destruction. Welcome home_.:


End file.
